Events and culture

A Calabrian set for Simona Izzo’s new film

Yet another time Calabria (in particular, the Jonian coast around Cosenza) is a source of inspiration to a famous Italian director. The reason might lie in an unspoiled natural landscape, in the beauty of its seas and villages, perhaps in the presence of well-kept medieval castles. Whatever the reason, after Pupi Avati’s Calabrian leg in Rocca Imperiale for the shooting of “Laura’s wedding” a new crew is coming to this region for the making of yet another prestigious film.

The chosen location this time is Rosetto Capo Spulico; in the ancient Greeks’ words, the “city of Roses”, as it was the source of beautiful flowers used to stuff the pillows of many a princess from Sibari. The title of Simona Izzo’s new comedy, which will be showing in theatre in 2016, is “Baciami per sempre. Diario di una famiglia allargata”, based on a book she herself wrote, published by Mondadori in 2012.

It tells the story of an 18th-birthday lunch, to which the whole extend family of the female protagonist’s coming-of-age son is invited: ex wives and ex husbands, ex mothers in law, new partners, new sisters… What will be served at table however are true feelings and old grudges. As Simona Izzo had to say when she coined the word “famigliastra” while working on the script of a 1990s TV series: «in the new family, there is room for everybody. It is more flexible and has more sides to it than a traditional family. The children of such families will have putative mothers and fathers, spiritual parents who will sort of act as role models through their development»

The working title for this film is “Festa di una famiglia allarmata” (“An alarmed family’s party”). Its shooting is about to begin in Villapiana and Roseto Capo Spulico. The film crew will then move to Crotone, Pythagoras’ city. There are, as could be expected, important names in the film cast: Francesca Neri, Max Gazzè (who has also been chosen by Izzo as the score composer), Valentina Cervi, Miriam Catania, Marco Cocci, Mariano Rigillo and Lorenzo Siffredi. There will also be many Calabrian extras, drawn from the participants in the September casting auditions, who in their own way will become characters in this topical story.

Our hope, it goes without saying, is for a positive follow-up to the shooting, which might be useful for the promotion of Calabria’s cultural heritage and natural beauties.